WTN: Rhone night

A drive up to Croton (forgetting some pate I meant to bring), grabbed Craig and Victor at train station, and proceeded to John’s. A nice group gathered to taste some Rhones, John had several nice cheeses out, and luckily Craig had brought charcuterie (pate, Smoking goose soppresata, prosciutto, speck) so my pate wasn’t missed.

2008 Philipponnat “1522” Rosé Extra Brut Millesime
Really nice showing, snappy and elegant, I need to drink more Philipponnat. A-/B+

2012 Fondreche “Il Etait Une Fois” Ventoux
14.5 ABV but holds it well. Spicy full fruits but slightly bitter finish. Maybe a bit to kirschy for me but some love. B

1989 Domaine de la Gardine Chateauneuf du Pape
Elegant nose, light body, nice red berry flavors but not so long. B

1989 les Cailloux Chateauneuf du Pape
Big, black fruity, vanilla others liked more than me. B/B-

2014 Arnot Roberts Clary Syrah
Delicious , bright, very good, with spicy/brambly fruit. B++

2015 Allemand Cornas “Chaillot”
Corked!

2011 Guigal “Vignes de l’Hospice” Saint-Joseph
Sweet cinnamon and other spices, some oak notes but well integrated, this is very very good. B+

2009 Jean-Michel Stephan Cote-Rotie
Slightly lifted nose, bright fruit but a little note of heat. B/B+

2009 Guigal “Chateau d’Ampuls”- Cote-Rotie
Lots of oak but nice underneath, fleshy black fruit, but another 2009 showing warmth B

2008 Gilles Barge “le Combard”Cote-Rotie
Refined, elegant, campfire with roasting meat on a spit, great character. A-

2006 Clape Cornas
Delicious but very young B+/A-

2006 Gonon Saint-Joseph
Lovely, complex, perfumed, complete. Rich dark fruit, just a hint of animal, Burgundy texture while maintaining Rhone personality. A-

2005 Bernard Gripa Saint-Joseph
Still quite young, stemmy, silky, long, I need to look for Gripa. A-/B+
John served a lovely dish of short ribs over rice with orange zest

2001 Pierre Gaillard “Cote Rozier” Cote-Rotie
Redder fruit, peppery, nice. B/B+

2005 Texier Cote-Rotie
Very good, black cherry and raspberry, grilled meat, spicy. B+/A-

1991 Jaboulet “la Chapelle” Hermitage
A little animal, lots of power, green herbs and dark fruit, some thought not a representative bottle. B+/B

1988 Jaboulet “la Chapelle” Hermitage
Some thought corked initially, but seemed to dissipate, but think remained clunky and a little roasted. I’ve had before, don’t think a representative bottle. B-

1983Jaboulet “la Chapelle” Hermitage
Funky and musty but cleans up, mushroom and bacon, kind of a wild ride but a quite nice wine in the end. B+

Fun night, great crew



Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C drinkable. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.

[David M. Bueker]

Nice to see the Arnot-Roberts showing well. I have multiple vintages of that wine, not to mention some in dad’s cellar.

[Jenise]

What a great bunch of wines. Btw, maybe two years ago I had my first Gripa and had a similar reaction. I don't always follow up on everything I mean to, but I did on that.

I like Barge but haven't had that particular wine (I have the du Plessy and Cote Blonde - very reliable!) And I don't recall ever having a Texier I didn't like!

I like Barge but haven't had that particular wine (I have the du Plessy and Cote Blonde - very reliable!)

They've changed the names of their range several times over the years. Interestingly, several importer websites say 2009 was the first vintage of Le Combard. But Dale's tasting would appear to prove them wrong!

I didn't look closely at bottle, but John wrote an extensive article in 2016 on Barge with a section devoted to the reclamation of Le Combard, including a note on the 2007. Looking at CT I see Josh R, Jancis R, and a writer for Decanter also reviewed the 2007. Which I think is the first vintage.

...but John wrote an extensive article in 2016 on Barge with a section devoted to the reclamation of Le Combard, including a note on the 2007. Looking at CT I see Josh R, Jancis R, and a writer for Decanter also reviewed the 2007. Which I think is the first vintage.

I'm sure that's true. Wouldn't be the first time the internet got something wrong, even from reputable sources like Rare Wine Co, and then it was copied all over on other sites...

https://www.rarewineco.com/producer/domaine-barge-cote-rotie/?srsltid=AfmBOorKBX2BXCAheN5oWRIIPcjUJW2d0oFHYo3xZ1FonbBk0IaR7JVI

I didn't look closely at bottle, but John wrote an extensive article in 2016 on Barge with a section devoted to the reclamation of Le Combard, including a note on the 2007. Looking at CT I see Josh R, Jancis R, and a writer for Decanter also reviewed the 2007. Which I think is the first vintage.

Well, CT also shows a lone bottle of '85 Le Combard, but I'd say that that looks a tad suspicious.

[David M. Bueker]

I didn't look closely at bottle, but John wrote an extensive article in 2016 on Barge with a section devoted to the reclamation of Le Combard, including a note on the 2007. Looking at CT I see Josh R, Jancis R, and a writer for Decanter also reviewed the 2007. Which I think is the first vintage.

Well, CT also shows a lone bottle of '85 Le Combard, but I'd say that that looks a tad suspicious.

Somebody who probably doesn’t know much about Barge made an assumption is my guess.

Yes, I think there's a lot of lazy CT entries. Pretty sure Barge only had straight Cote Rotie till 90s, sure that's what 85 was supposed to be.

I've seen multiple things on CT that I'm pretty sure didn't exist.

Yes, I think there's a lot of lazy CT entries. Pretty sure Barge only had straight Cote Rotie till 90s, sure that's what 85 was supposed to be.

I've seen multiple things on CT that I'm pretty sure didn't exist.

I also quite often encounter multiple entries for the same wine, such as Chevillon NSG and Chevillon NSG VV.